March 07, 2008

Terminator part 2.

Today I had to finish what was started yesterday. Again more terminations and more sever write ups. Yea, it involved that many people. By the time the dust settled, I couldn't walk through the office and make eye contact with any of the employees. Not that I wouldn't look at them, but they wouldn't look at me.

Every time I walked down an aisle, everyone would just shut up and start focusing on something else or walk away. One of my employees came up to me and asked me to just get it over with, and this person wasn't even on my list of offenders. I ended up having to have a talk with her, because she obviously did something wrong, but since the audit didn't catch it, no official talking to took place.

Later in the day two of my employees came up and asked if it was safe to talk to me again. I had to ask one of my peers people a question. When I walked up to them they were sweating and jumped when I said their name. The rumor on the floor is that this whole thing was my crusade. That someone narked them out and I ran with the investigation and termination. No matter how much I tried to explain that I was just the messenger, I don't think anyone believed me.

This afternoon before I left I had to take a conference call. When I asked one of the employees to join in the room because I wanted their expertise, they brought with their purse, coat and some personal effects. I looked them in the eye and rather frustrated said, "For the love of Pete, I'm not going to fire you!" I think they almost broke down in tears... of joy.

Great, I think this little reputation is going to stick with me for years.